1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foot pedal for a drum in which the drum head of a bass drum is struck when the foot pedal is depressed with the foot and more particularly to a foot pedal for a drum which is designed so that the degree of freedom in setting and playing the drum set can be increased.
2. Prior Art
Various drum foot pedals of this type, in which a beater is caused to pivot by the depression of a foot board so that the beater strikes the drum head of a bass drum, have been proposed in the past (examples: Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 58-43035, etc.).
FIGS. 9 and 10 are a perspective view and a schematic plan view which illustrate a conventional example of a foot pedal for a drum. This conventional foot pedal may be described briefly as follows: The drum foot pedal 1 includes a pedal frame 2 which is set on the floor surface, and this pedal frame 2 is made up of a frame main body 2A, a pair of supporting columns (left and right) 2B which are installed in upright positions on the upper surface of the frame main body 2A, and a heel 2C which is connected to the frame main body 2A via a connecting member 3, etc. A clamping member 6 which holds the tightening frame (or hoop) 5 of a bass drum 4 is mounted to the frame main body 2A. A rotatable shaft 7 is installed between the upper ends of the pair of supporting columns 2B, 2B via bearings, and a rocker 8 is attached to the center of this rotatable shaft 7. A beater 9 which strikes the drum head of the bass drum 4 is installed on the rocker 8 via a beater rod 10, and one end of a pedal depressing force transmission member 12 which transmits the depressing force of a foot board 11 to the beater 9 is connected to the rocker 8. A timing belt, a flexible leather or plastic band or a chain, etc. can be used as the pedal depressing force transmission member 12. The foot board 11 is formed as a flat plate of sufficient size to accommodate the foot. The front end of the foot board 11 is connected to the other end of the pedal depressing force transmission member 12, and the rear end of the foot board 11 is connected to the heel 2C so that the foot board 11 is free to pivot upward and downward. Furthermore, the upper end of a return spring 13 (omitted in FIG. 2) which imparts a pivoting habit to the foot board 11 in the return direction is connected to one end of the rotatable shaft 7 via a cam plate 14, and the lower end of this return spring 13 is connected to a spring receiving member 15 which is installed on the lower end of one of the supporting columns 2B.
Furthermore, 16 indicates lugs, 17 indicates tightening bolts, and 18 indicates clasps.
In the drum foot pedal 1 constructed as described above, normally the foot board 11 is maintained at a prescribed inclination with the front end lifted as shown in FIG. 9 by the spring force of the return spring 13. When a depressing force is applied to the foot board 11 in this state, the pedal depressing force transmission member 12 is pulled down, and the beater 9 pivots by the rotatable shaft 7 and strikes the drum head of the bass drum 4. The maximum angle of depression of the foot board 11 in this case is approximately 15.degree.. When the depressing force is removed from the foot board 11 after the beater 9 has struck the drum head, the foot board 11 is caused to pivot upward by the spring force of the return spring 13, and the foot board 11 returns to its initial position.
However, all conventional drum foot pedals 1 are set to face the corresponding bass drum 4 and are directly and securely connected thereto. Accordingly, the orientation of the player with respect to the bass drum 4, i. e., the setting angle of the bass drum 4, is restricted. If the orientation or setting angle is thus poor, playing with the foot firmly placed on the foot board 11 becomes impossible. Thus, there is only a slight degree of freedom in the setting or playing of the drum set. In actual playing, the drums are sometimes played with the foot oriented at such an angle that the foot protrudes from the foot board 11. In such cases, however, a large transmission loss in the pedal depressing force occurs, so that an excessively large depressing force is required.
Furthermore, since the foot board 11 protrudes toward the player from the lower central part of the drum head, the foot board 11 may be a nuisance when the drums are set up.